In the past, it has been common when moving heavy articles to place them upon wood or paperboard pallets which raise the articles above the floor and provide a space for the tines of a forklift to be received underneath. An example of a paperboard pallet for such use is disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,184. Such pallets are typically separate from the articles which they support, though the articles may be strapped to the pallets if desired.
There are several disadvantages with the above-described method and pallet apparatus. For example, extra labor and expense are incurred when strapping the article to the pallet. Also, additional labor and space is required to fabricate and then maintain a supply of bulky pallets for use when needed.
In many situations, it may be convenient to treat such pallets as "disposable" whereby the pallets are shipped with the articles and subsequently discarded. However, this increases the shipping cost of the article. In order to reduce article handling costs, it has become economically desirable to assume the burden of storing and reusing the pallets when possible.
It would be desirable to provide a relatively inexpensive structure for effecting bottom spacing in a manner similar to the above-described pallets. Moreover, it would be advantageous if the spacer structure construction and materials could be economically and conveniently used on a "one time" basis. The structure could be subsequently disposed of with relatively little additional labor or handling costs. One such structure is the paperboard pallet disclosed in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,184. The pallet is of conventional rectangular design and is a self-contained, non-attached, single unit structure intended to be used with any number of articles having a large variety of shapes and sizes.
Conventional pallets, such as the one disclosed in the above-referenced U.S. Pat. No. 2,444,184, are typically constructed with the least amount of carpenter work or labor. They generally have simple shapes, such as squares or rectangles. When handling cylindrical objects such as paper rolls, the excess size and corner portions of the pallets result in inefficient storage of the cylindrical objects.
When items such as large paper rolls, it is desirable that the item be properly supported and raised above the floor. This permits the tines of a forklift to be inserted beneath the item without damage. In the past, the space beneath and between paper rolls was provided by pallets, by two-by-fours, or by a sandwich made from two large pieces of corrugated paper which had been fixed together in a spaced arrangement by numerous slices of paper roll cores. These spacer structures, because they were not attached to the paper rolls, sometimes required special handling to ensure their proper placement under and between rolls of paper. Further, portions of these structures projected beyond the sides of the paper rolls and this prevented using the most efficient storage configuration.
It would be desirable to provide a spacer system which would require little or no special handling, which would provide for efficient storing of cylindrical articles, and which could easily be attached directly to the articles. Preferably the unit is disposable after a one time use.